Brewers-Mets Preview

With the speculation surrounding the job status of manager Terry Collins addressed, the New York Mets go for their longest home winning streak in nearly a year as they attempt to beat the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers again Wednesday night.

New York (29-35) is among the worst offensive teams in the majors with a .234 average, .351 slugging percentage and 47 homers. The Mets are batting .228 over the past seven games but homered on two of their five hits while ending a six-game slide with Tuesday's 6-2 win over Milwaukee.

The victory in the opener of this three-game series came after general manager Sandy Alderson refuted reports that Collins' job was in danger.

"Sometimes you have to address topics you wouldn't otherwise because of all of the noise that surrounds the situation," Alderson told the team's official website. "That's kind of it in a nutshell. You have to take a little bit longer view of things."

The Mets are aiming for their first four-game home winning streak since Aug. 6-20, but they're batting .202 over their last three at Citi Field.

Taylor Teagarden may have done enough to earn another start behind the plate after hitting a grand slam in his Mets debut, hours after being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace demoted catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

"If I could help get the monkey off the back, whatever it takes," said Teagarden, who helped New York improve to 11 for 64 (.172) with the bases loaded.

Despite Teagarden's unexpected slam, the Mets will likely continue to rely on a staff that has compiled a 1.33 ERA over the past three home games.

Jacob deGrom owns a 1.83 ERA in three home starts, but he's still seeking his first win anywhere in the majors.

The rookie right-hander has allowed seven runs in 11 1/3 innings while not getting a decision over his last two starts -- both on the road. Each of his three previous outings came at Citi Field, and he'll be looking to rebound from his worst performance of the season.

DeGrom (0-2, 3.19 ERA) was tagged for four runs in five innings of Thursday's 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. He served up a two-run homer to opposing starter Travis Wood.

The Brewers (38-27) will counter with Wily Peralta (5-5, 3.03), who has struggled with his command while splitting his past two starts. The right-hander allowed 10 runs and three homers with five walks in 10 2/3 innings over those outings after he had a 2.12 ERA in his first 10 games.

Peralta's recent issues were on display during Thursday's 8-5 win at Minnesota. He yielded four runs with three walks while throwing 101 pitches in five innings, but was backed by six runs and got his first win in six starts.

"We need him to somehow get it down back in the zone and get some easy outs," manager Ron Roenicke told the team's official website. "He works really hard on every single batter, and you can't keep doing that."

Peralta had little trouble in his only meeting with the Mets on Sept. 16, 2012, allowing two hits in eight innings of a 3-0 victory.

Research Notes

Daniel Murphy has hit .365 this season in at-bats that end in a fastball, the sixth-highest rate among qualifiers. Wily Peralta has thrown a fastball on 67.2 percent of pitches, the ninth-highest percentage among qualified pitchers.